"Eques Mortis", Eques Tempus said quietly.
Eques Tempus' heart was pounding. The stories regarding Eques Morits were hardly any better than Eques Noctis. Both the Knights did not have much information about themselves and even if they did they hid it quite well. The only difference in their stories was that Eques Noctis had never and would never show his face to the world other than the Princess.
Eques Mortis nodded and bowed to his frater. When he raised his head he said, "Although the Princess has escaped and passed her Trial she is worn out, it would be advisable to take rest. Let me lead you to my cottage for some food as well." As Eques Tempus heard this he too started feeling his fatigue catch up to him. He felt his stomach moaning for food and his feet pleading for rest. He trusted his frater and so began the journey deep into the Valley of Death towards shelter.
The Princess had calmed down on her way to Eques Mortis' cottage but she yet felt her heart pound in her ears. All she wanted was Eques Noctis to be present in front of her. To calm her and tell her she did well. She did not disappoint him. Time flew past her as she did not move much until she reached the cottage. Once inside she collapsed to her knees and felt her anxiety come back. She held her chest near her heart as she cried out loud at the pain she was feeling. Eques Tempus immediately knelt down to reach her only for Eques Mortis to stop him.
"She needs to calm down on her own. Let her cry it out. She has been strong for too long. That is the reason the ghost creature was able to lure her. It preyed on her fear to lose someone close to her once again. The Trial was not hers to undergo but her fear was something she needed to let go. She will be fine.", Eques Mortis said.
Eques Tempus nodded in understanding but yet picked up the Princess and took her further into the cottage. He set her down on a small cotton cloud like pillow on the floor as her sobs reduced but did not stop. Eques Tempus did not like what he saw but he knew that his frater was right. He wished he could help but the little Princess was strong for too long. As he sat down on the soft floating chair-like structure. When he felt the chair wobble a bit he realized what he was sitting on was like the ghost of a chair. Everything in the cottage was ghost-like. It had an eerie appearance and with only enough light for a person to see the other end of the cottage. Although it looked small from the outside. It was mysteriously large with cooking at one end with a mist around the other where Eques Mortis would vanish and reappear constantly. It was like a portal to the outside but it seemed like he kept vanishing into another world as if he himself was a couple of feet away from a darker world. Every time he would appear there would be soot on his white hair and burn marks on his worn out brown cloak. He would cough a little and then go back as if looking for a source of fresh air in a land engulfed in flames.
The entire cottage looked like a veil. Unstable but strong enough for the Knight of Death to move about. There were a lot of things to observe a lot of things to take in but Eques Tempus felt his strength wane from his body. His first thought was to protect the Princess but she was already asleep in a sitting position. Her head was nodding as she slept in a sitting position. Eques Tempus tried to get up from his position but failed. It was as if Eques Mortis had cast a spell of death on them. He tried once again when he heard a voice and with all the strength he had left he looked up only to see Eques Mortis smiling with wild eyes at him. He knew at that moment that he had been tricked or so he felt for he could not feel the energy from his frater. With his eyes fluttering he could finally make out another person enter the cottage and fight Eques Mortis. The person exhibited a safe feeling letting Eques Tempus let go of his guard and fall prey to the temporary death.